danso

Perhaps not as glamorous as a marquee striker or midfielder, as what we've come to expect from
MLS teams in the recent years, but I think, if anything, these past two road games have shown that
the Portland Timbers desperately need to bring in a marquee, veteran defender to command and lead
the back line.

With tomorrow's big game the first since the trading away of both Troy Perkins and Mike Chabala,
there's been a lot of opinion and suggestions coming from the fan base on what the Portland Timbers
FO should do with regards to players. Obviously, most of you probably wouldn't have traded Perkins
away, some of you probably would have traded Chabala.

It's a battle of the basement dwellers tonight! And it brings me absolutely no joy in saying
that. As the Portland Timbers look to earn their first road win against the other worst team in the
league, FC Dallas will be looking to right their season amidst a series of injuries.

One thing to remember is that the Portland Timbers don't have the best record at FC Dallas
Stadium.

The Portland Timbers again open the road going down a goal and look listless in the attack.
Chivas looks just as bad offensively, except for the ability to exploit the Timbers' LB, but
defensively they look miles ahead of Portland. 1-0 loss

First Half

Gavin Wilkinson trotted out the 4-2-3-1 just like the Galaxy game but this time he had Futty
Danso in stead of David Horst and Diego Chara in for Palmer.

So, Game One with Gavin Wilkinson as interim head coach didn't go so well -- entertaining, yes,
but entertainment doesn't add points to the standings. The Portland Timbers will try to turn things
around in front of a prepubescent midday crowd at the Home Depot Center today. If the Boys in Green
are going to get a win away from home at all this season, it might as well come against the worst
offense in MLS.

Happy belated Fourth of July everyone. Although not every match in the mid-week line-up offered its
own dose of fireworks for the MLS faithful there was still plenty of soccer to watch on Tuesday and
Wednesday night. And the late game dramatics of the Los Angeles and Philadelphia game capped off a
spectacular slate of Holiday activities.

Another great start as the Portland Timbers score first on a very quick counter attack. In the
second half Portland added another goal and it turned out to be the cushion they needed as the San
Jose Earthquakes pulled one back. 2-1 Win for Portland.

First Half

From the first whistle Portland looked like they actually came to play tonight.

Just three days after what was arguably their worst game of the year, the Portland Timbers
responded to that disappointing show against Colorado by putting together the kind of victory has
just might spark a full-blown turnaround.

The Timbers scored goals in each half, including Danny Mwanga's first for Portland since joining
the team from Philadelphia, to earn a 2-1 victory against the San Jose Earthquakes on Tuesday
night.

The Portland Timbers held their first practice after the bloodbath in Colorado at Jeld-Wen field
this morning. With a match coming up tomorrow against league-leading San Jose, today's closed
session was a strange mix of regen and game prep.

Kalif Alhassan took part in his first practice since pulling a hamstring against Seattle last
week.

Player ratings for Sunday's match won't be quite as in depth as you're probably used to. This is
primarily because we four writers here at Stumptown Footy are running into ourselves trying to
finish up the post game coverage of the Colorado game while also getting all our preview game
material ready for tomorrow's game.

That did not go as planned. For the first time in the MLS era, the Seattle Sounders lost to the
Portland Timbers. I wouldn't say the Sounders were outplayed, but I don't know that I'd say they
were clearly outplayed in many of these seven games that they've failed to win.

Rather, this was a hugely frustrating continuation of an incomplete game being followed by a
substandard result.

Big day. Big match. Big EVERYTHING. There's really not much I can say about the rivalry today
that most of you don't already know. But if this IS your first time heading to a match between
these two sides, all I will say is be prepared. There's nothing timid about a Portland Timbers -
Seattle Sounders match.

The Portland Timbers held practice today at their Beaverton training facility. As has been the
case over the last two weeks, practice was completely closed outside the league mandated 15 minutes
at the beginning of the day.

Eric Brunner is still concussed. Rodney Wallace's ankle is still hurt.

The Portland Timbers held training this morning at their Beaverton facility. It was yet another
closed session, as will all sessions be for the foreseeable future. At the end of the session
today, all players except the goalkeepers left the pitch as a unit, instead of the usual lingering
to get in some extra work.

Yesterday kicked off MLS's foray into this year's US Open Cup and the results were mixed, to say
the least. Of all the MLS sides participating in the tournament, seven famously flamed out against
teams from lower tiers of the American soccer pyramid. If there's one thing we have learned from
what occurred yesterday it's that the Portland Timbers shouldn't be expecting an easy game
tonight.

Another game day. Well, maybe not just another game day. After all this is a Cascadia Cup match
and that, in itself, is something that makes tonight's match just a little more noteworthy than
traditional games. There's a bit more adrenaline. Perhaps even a little more brazen raucousness
from the fans.

The Timbers front office announced that four Timbers players will be serving with their
respective national teams during the FIFA international break between May 23 and June 16. The
players mentioned in the press release were CB Futty Danso, GK Jake Gleeson, MF Lovel Palmer and MF
Rodney Wallace.

Because of the long break from MLS competition, neither Lovel Palmer nor Rodney Wallace will
miss MLS matches.

Futty Danso received a one game suspension and a fine for an undisclosed amount for striking
Calen Carr in the head while tackling the ball away from him in the Portland Timbers game versus
the Houston Dynamo on Tuesday. During the game the play in question was ruled fair play as Futty
got the ball before colliding with Carr, but upon further review the MLS Discipline Committee ruled
that Futty's challenge warranted further action.

Well that was not a match to write home about. It happens in every sport, not every game is
great and while last night's nil-nil draw between the Houston Dynamo and the Portland Timbers will
not make any highlight reels, it wasn't the worst match we've ever seen. It's a little
disappointing to leave points on the table against a struggling Timbers side but considering the
lineup changes and the insanely busy schedule the Dynamo are facing right now, a point is a
point.

At this time last year, the Portland Timbers were just eight games into their inaugural season,
and they were already creating a reputation for a dangerous ability to score goals off corner kicks
and free kicks.

By May 8 the Timbers had scored eleven goals, seven from set pieces. Portland's next game came
against Seattle, when Futty Danso famously got his head above Kasey Keller's outstretched mitts and
redirected Jack Jewsbury's long free kick for the score.

The Portland Timbers held a closed practice today at Jeld-Wen field ahead of their impending
match up against the Columbus Crew. With both the Timbers and Crew near the bottom of the league
table, the pressure is on for the Timbers to find a win but the mood around practice seemed
upbeat.

Perhaps the most interesting news out of practice today came from a tweet by Mike Donovan.

The Portland Timbers practiced today at Jeld-Wen Field for the first time since their defeat by
the Montreal Impact on Saturday. Practice was closed to the press after the team completed their
warm-ups.

The Timbers wounded were a mixed bag at practice with Troy Perkins, who will be a game time
decision this weekend according to John Spencer, at practice and running with a bandage on his
nose.

After the big news of Troy Perkins' trade today the Timbers still practiced at their Beaverton
training facility. Perkins was sighted briefly before practice as he stopped by to say goodbye to
his teammates and clean out his locker.

Donovan Ricketts, who was picked up in exchange for Perkins, will practice with the team for the
first time on Friday, according to Gavin Wilkinson.

Another Timbers away match, another Timbers away loss. Although the Timbers took longer to
collapse than they did against Colorado last week, the final score line was the same. With Geoff
unavailable, Ryan, Andy, and I searched and eventually came up with some suitable candidates for
the Timbers' Man of the Match.

MLS announced today that Mamadou "Futty" Danso will be suspended one game and fined for the
vicious hit to the head he delivered to Calen Carr (who is wearing protective headgear for
goodness' sakes!!) late in the 0-0 draw on Tuesday night at BBVA Compass Stadium.

Here are all the videos we the SF gang took after the game. Will will be transcribing them for
you and adding some of the comments we could not get video for. I know there will be added quotes
from Will from Kris Boyd and others as well as the transcription of these videos (give Will major
props for transcribing all of these).

In their last training session before flying to LA to take on the Galaxy tomorrow, the Timbers
found themselves in the middle of a much more busy training facility that normal. With the usual
practice taking place alongside a Tualatin Hills United Soccer Club tournament and a tour for
sponsors of the team, the atmosphere around the Timbers training facility was much more lively that
normal.

Today's Timbers practice was once again closed to the press as the team trained at the Beaverton
training facility. However, for the first time since the beginning of the break, the team was still
out on the field kicking the ball around when the press was allowed to return.

Kris Boyd, who put in an appearance at the season ticket holders event last night after getting
back in to town earlier in the day, practiced with the team today.

The Timbers held a closed practice today at their Beaverton Training Facility. With a number of
players still missing and new acquisition Danny Mwanga not yet arrived, the group at practice was a
small one.

Mwanga, who the Timbers picked up yesterday from the Philadelphia Union, should be arriving in
time to practice with the team tomorrow, leaving him just over a week to get acclimated before the
Timbers take on the Galaxy in LA.

After canceling practice yesterday (a decision that came before the Timbers shocking Open Cup
defeat), the Timbers got back on the pitch at their new training facility today. With a long rest
starting for the first team and a reserve game tomorrow, the Timbers did not have a very strenuous
practice but did close the proceedings to the press after completing their warm-ups.

The Timbers trained today at Jeld-Wen Field in preparation for their first Cascadia Cup match of
the year. With the match against the Vancouver Whitecaps tomorrow night, practice was closed after
warm-ups.

For the first time this season the Timbers were missing no players due to injury at practice
today.

The Timbers held a full practice today after yesterday's light regeneration session as they
prepare to face the Chicago Fire on Sunday. Today's closed session at Jeld-Wen saw only one change
in personnel from yesterday.

Troy Perkins returned to the pitch to practice with the rest of the team after doing his own
work out yesterday.

Today the MLS Disciplinary Committee announced the suspensions and fines for the past week. Brek
Shea and Mamadou Danso picked up suspensions for actions this past week, but two names were absent
from the list. Roger Espinoza and Peter Vermes were both missing from the list.

Espinoza had picked up a red card for an elbow to Sebastian Grazzini while going for a ball.

Any question whether Futty Danso would play against Chicago has been answered by Major League
Soccer and their disciplinary committee. Danso was suspended for one match for hitting Houston
midfielder Calen Carr in the head during a collision in the 82nd minute of their May 15 match in
Houston. Danso will sit out the May 20 match against the Chicago Fire, although his availability
was questionable because of a hamstring injury he suffered on the same play.

The Rest

Article by Doak Gips
We're moving closer to the halfway point in the NASL schedule, and while the fight for the top
continues onto next week, Atlanta is trying to real hard to lay claim to the cellar of the league.
Actually, they don't have to try much harder, they've pretty much got that part nailed down.

The Timbers' win over the Seattle Sounders yesterday was an epic one. There were goals, there
were fights, there was an epic tifo, and in the midst of all that there were some fantastic
performances put in by the players. With that in mind, the editors here at Stumptown Footy thought
we should recognize those performances by each declaring our man of the match.